Nascar’s Denny Hamlin And Musician Mark Bryan Team Up For Another Successful Charity Event

CHARLESTON, SC (January 7, 2014) – The 2nd annual Denny & Mark’s Pro-Am Jam hosted by the Student Transportation of America Education Foundation, raised $165,000 for charity making it a huge success. The fundraising event, which was held October 21-22 on Daniel Island in Charleston, SC, again featured the partnership of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, Hootie & the Blowfish founding member and lead guitarist Mark Bryan and Denis Gallagher, CEO of Student Transportation Inc. (STI), North America’s leading provider of school bus transportation services.

Proceeds from the two-day event, which were more than those raised at the inaugural event, were recently donated to the charitable organizations represented by hosts Denny Hamlin, Mark Bryan and STI’s philanthropic arm, the Student Transportation of America Education Foundation (STAEF). These three non-profits all strive to enhance the lives of children. The two year total of funds raised that has been donated to charity is $300,000.

STAEF, represented by Denis Gallagher, received a donation of $55,000. Mark Bryan’s non-profit, Carolina Studios, also received $55,000 and $40,000 was donated to MUSC Children’s Hospital for Cystic Fibrosis research on behalf of The Denny Hamlin Foundation with another $15,000 allocated to funding other projects and donation requests from The Denny Hamlin Foundation.

“The Pro-Am Jam was a big hit again. Those in attendance thoroughly enjoyed a great night of music, some fantastic auction items and a wonderful day of golf all benefitting the children,” states Denis Gallagher. “Denny and Mark are great partners and we collectively enjoy positively impacting the lives of many children within our community.”

The event again featured a Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament at the Daniel Island Club on its award-winning Ralston Creek course and a Jam Concert presented by SunTrust. Celebrity guests included greats from the worlds of racing, music, entertainment and sports. Co-host Denny Hamlin represented the world of NASCAR along with Danica Patrick, Hermie Sadler and NASCAR Championship Team Owner and Hall of Fame and Super Bowl Champion NFL Coach Joe Gibbs.

“We had a great group of celebrities and VIPs who all had a lot of fun at the incredible concert and golf event at the Daniel Island Club,” said Hamlin, a 23-time winner on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. “It’s very enjoyable partnering with Mark and Denis to put on a first-class event that raises funds for each of our foundations, which benefit so many children.”

Actor Bill Murray enjoyed his time on the links during the Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament along with PGA Professionals Tommy Gainey, Robert Gamez and Mark Anderson, former NBA players Rick Barry and Gus Williams, Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl champion George Rogers, former NFL star Sterling Sharpe, former NFL Pro Bowler Ovie Mughelli and former NFL and college football standout and actor Ed Marinaro to name a few.

Mark Bryan again had some of his friends from the music world take part and they included fellow Hootie & the Blowfish band members Darius Rucker, Dean Felber and Jim Sonefeld along with Edwin McCain, Branford Marsalis, Patrick Davis and 14-time Grammy winner, Dan Tyminski among others.

“I couldn't be more pleased with the progress of our Pro-Am Jam. In just two years, we've increased the amount of money raised for the charities involved, and the level of participation from celebrities and sponsors continues to rise,” said Bryan. “On top of that we put on our best concert to date this past fall. We look forward to a bigger and better event this year.”

This event was made possible by the support of major sponsors SunTrust, FedEx, Toyota of North Charleston, Thomas Bus, Blue Bird Corporation and Navistar/IC Bus. The dates for the 3nd Annual Denny & Mark’s Pro-Am Jam hosted by the Student Transportation of America Education Foundation have not been announced yet but please visit www.facebook.com/TheProAmJam and www.dennyhamlinfoundation.org for details as they become available in early 2014.